How to Set JAVA_HOME PATH to Mac .zshrc profile file

At times you might download the Java JDK built tar.gz file by yourself and would like to make use of it as the Java version for your Mac Terminal. In such a case you can set the JAVA_HOME in the .zshrc profile file by following the below steps.

For this example, I have downloaded Java JDK 21, the latest LTS version of Java under ~/Downloads folder.

Step 1: Identify the Home path for your Java JDK

In my case it is "/Users/code2care/Downloads/jdk-21.jdk/Contents/Home"

Step 2: Open .zshrc profile file using Nano/Vim Terminal Text editor

nano ~/.zshrc

Step 3: Add JAVA_HOME export details

export JAVA_HOME=/Users/code2care/Downloads/jdk-21.jdk/Contents/Home

Step 4: Add JAVA_HOME to PATH

export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

Save an exit the .zshrc file.

Step 5: Apply Changes

Run the below command in terminal to apply changes to Zsh shell.

source ~/.zshrc

Now if you do a java --version, you should see that you have the JAVA_HOME JDK being used.

[Macbook % java --version
openjdk 21 2023-09-19
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21+35-2513)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21+35-2513, mixed mode, sharing)